Streetbeat News

Acquisitions Mergers

ARKK

COIN

GBTC

PINS

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest purchased 572,445 shares of Pinterest (PINS) worth $21.39 million, while continuing to sell shares of Coinbase (COIN) and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Pinterest has been implementing efficiency measures, including layoffs and reducing office space, and reported strong Q3 results. Ark has been selling COIN and GBTC since July 11, despite a recovering cryptocurrency market. ARKK closed down 1.75% on Friday.

Portfolio Pulse from Shanthi Rexaline

December 16, 2023 | 2:24 pm

ATVI

MSFT

Activision Blizzard, now a Microsoft subsidiary, has agreed to a $55 million settlement with the California Civil Rights Department over gender discrimination claims. The settlement, which is pending court approval, will provide relief to women who faced discrimination from October 2015 to December 2020. This follows a previous $18 million settlement with the EEOC and comes after Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which was approved after Microsoft agreed to sell some game streaming rights to Ubisoft to address competition concerns.

Portfolio Pulse from Ananya Gairola

December 16, 2023 | 5:10 am

GOOG

MSFT

OpenAI has suspended ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, for using GPT to train a competing AI model in China, which violates the developer licenses of both OpenAI and Microsoft Corp. ByteDance admitted to using GPT for non-China markets and has developed its own model, Doubao, for China. ByteDance claims to be developing a model more powerful than Alphabet Inc.'s Google Gemini. OpenAI is investigating ByteDance's use of their API and may terminate their account if violations are confirmed.

Portfolio Pulse from Rounak Jain

December 16, 2023 | 3:42 am

PSHZF

TSLA

Elon Musk has expressed support for Bill Ackman's stance against anti-Semitism at Ivy League universities, specifically Harvard. Ackman has called for the resignation of Harvard's president, Claudine Gay, due to her handling of anti-Semitic incidents. Musk's support is reciprocated, as Ackman previously defended Musk against accusations of anti-Semitism. Ackman's Pershing Square Foundation remains invested in Musk's company, X (formerly Twitter). Musk is also planning to launch his own university in Texas, with a $100 million pledge to his charity focusing on STEM education.

Portfolio Pulse from Rounak Jain

December 16, 2023 | 2:17 am

AL

Air Lease Corporation (ALC) has delivered the first of seven new Airbus A321-200neo aircraft to Transavia. The aircraft are on a long-term lease, and this delivery marks the beginning of Transavia's single-aisle fleet development with the A321-200neo, which is expected to enhance their service and efficiency.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

December 15, 2023 | 9:35 pm

KKR

KKR has acquired a $7.2 billion portfolio of super-prime recreational vehicle (RV) loans from BMO Bank National Association. BMO sold the loans and concurrently purchased about $6.4 billion of senior notes collateralized by the sold loans. BMO will continue to service and manage the RV loans. The transaction is part of KKR's Asset-Based Finance strategy, which has grown to $47 billion in assets under management. Kennedy Lewis Investment Management LLC also participated in the transaction.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

December 15, 2023 | 9:16 pm

V

Visa (NYSE:V) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in Prosa, a leading payments processor in Mexico. Prosa will operate independently, maintaining its technology infrastructure, while Visa aims to enhance Prosa's offerings with new digital solutions. The acquisition is part of Visa's 'network of networks' strategy to leverage global technologies and is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals. This move is anticipated to make payment transactions in Mexico more efficient and secure, and to foster innovation and competition in the local market.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

December 15, 2023 | 9:09 pm

DOCU

DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU) stock is trading higher after a Wall Street Journal report indicated the company is considering a sale. The discussions are in preliminary stages with no certainty of a deal. DocuSign's market cap is nearly $44.5 billion, up from $6 billion at its IPO in 2018. The stock has risen over 25% in the past five days and 44% over the past month.

Portfolio Pulse from Erica Kollmann

December 15, 2023 | 8:43 pm

BVN

Shares of Buenaventura (BVN) are trading higher following the news that Antofagasta plc has acquired a beneficial ownership of roughly 19% of BVN's outstanding shares.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

December 15, 2023 | 8:00 pm

RIVN

T

Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) shares have seen an increase, trading higher by over 18% in the past five days and over 30% in the past month. The surge is attributed to a new deal with AT&T (NYSE:T) for the purchase of Rivian's electric vehicles in early 2024, aimed at improving safety, reducing costs, and cutting AT&T's carbon footprint. AT&T will also be the exclusive connectivity provider for Rivian's vehicles. Additionally, the broader stock market, including clean energy stocks, received a boost from the Fed's decision to leave rates unchanged and the outcomes of the COP28 climate summit.

Portfolio Pulse from Erica Kollmann

December 15, 2023 | 7:55 pm